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The September/October issue of Vintage Truck magazine will be available in subscriber mailboxes and on newsstands soon. Our cover story about a 1966 Ford Bronco roadster was written by Candace Brown and accompanied by Al Rogers' photos. Don Peroni began collecting and restoring Ford Broncos with his son Drew in 1998, never imagining what the new millennium would soon bring. In May 2000, they found a rare 1966 Model U13 roadster—one of the earliest built—with very few miles.

Peroni can thank an unusual life after the factory for the Bronco’s amazing condition. According to Peroni, his red roadster was built during the first week of production and probably shipped in late October or early November 1965. The odd thing was that Ford shipped this doorless, roofless model to dealer Arnold Blikre at Blikre Motors in Tioga, North Dakota. The average winter temperature there ranges from about -3 degrees Fahrenheit to just above 20, with annual snowfall at about 40 inches.

No one in Tioga wanted a roadster. It never sold. Blikre eventually used it as a service vehicle for his business and occasionally for snow removal by attaching a plow to the front. It had adequate power, with its standard 170ci, 105hp, 6-cylinder engine and 4.11:1 gearing. Despite the dealer’s use, it never accumulated many miles.